Baseball game with batting element movable through a vertical arc



.Aprll 1968 c.. E. SCHOEN 3,377,068

BASEBALL GAME WITH BATTING ELEMENT MOVABLE I THROUGH A VERTICAL ARC Filed Aug. 2, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 LEFT FIELDER Aprll 9, 1968 c. E. SCHOEN 3,377,068

BASEBALL GAME WITH BATTING ELEMENT MOVABLE THROUGH A VERTICAL ARC Filed Aug. 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent 3,377,068 BASEBALL GAME WITH BATTING ELEMENT MOVABLE THROUGH A VERTICAL ARC Carl E. Schoen, Barnhart, Mo. (Imperial, Mo. 63052) Filed Aug. 2, 1965, Ser. No. 476,448 3 Claims. (Cl. 273-89) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLGSURE A game board for a simulated baseball game wherein the vigor and direction of the pitching is controlled by one player and the vigor and timing of the batting is controlled by another player; and the batting device is springbiased for movement about a horizontal axis extending at right angles to the home plate-second base direction, has a rounded nose addressed toward the pitchers mound, and immediately behind the rounded nose has a hole larger than the ball.

This invention relates to a baseball game and more particularly to a pitching and batting mechanism for a baseball game designed for two opponents.

Previously, various baseball games have been proposed to provide realistic action of the pitching and batting arrangements with various baseball pitches such as curved balls, fast balls, slow balls, slow curves, fast curves, etc., as well as various batting action such as ground balls, pop-ups, line drives, pop fouls, etc. However, such prior games have not fully achieved the desired results because of the various mechanical limitations in reproducing the human element of pitching and batting control.

The present invention overcomes these mechanical difficulties by providing a special batting mechanism and a pitching mechanism in which the opponents or players may exercise close control over the pitching and batting. Briefly, the invention includes a baseball stadium layout including various player replicas, a batting mechanism and a pitching mechanism, and employs a simulated baseball which may be acted upon by the pitching mechanism and batting mechanism to reproduce the various pitches and batting occurring in an actual baseball game.

It is therefore an important object of the invention to provide a baseball game including a playing field layout, a controlled batting mechanism for reproducing actual hitting plays of a batter, and a controlled pitching mechanism for reproducing actual pitching plays of a pitcher.

It is another object of the invention to provide a baseball game having a playing field layout to simulate all types of fielding plays, having a pitching mechanism for creating typical pitches of a pitcher, and having a batting mechanism for creating typical hitting of a batter.

It is another object of the invention to provide a baseball game having a playing field to simulate various fielding action encountered in an actual baseball game, having a batting mechanism and having a pitching mechanism, said batting mechanism and pitching mechanism co-acting to produce simulated baseball game plays.

It is another object of the invention to provide a baseball game having a playing field including a pitchers mound, a home plate and a batters box, the pitchers mound including a rotatable pitching member having a slanting front and a remotely operated control rod for rotating said pitching member through a limited arc to roll a ball from the slanting front to home plate, simulating various pitches performed in an actual baseball game.

It is another object of the invention to provide a baseball game including a playing field for simulating various fielding action of an actual baseball game having a pitching mechanism and a batting mechanism including a batting wire pivotally mounted for rotation in a vertical are, a biasing means for rotating said batting wire, and a trigger mechanism to restrain rotation of said batting Wire in a set position and rotatable to a release position to permit rotation of the batting wire to simulate batting action of a real baseball game.

It is another object of the invention to provide a baseball game including a pitching mechanism having a pitching table rotatably mounted over the playing field of the baseball game and having an operating rod for rotating said. table through a limited arc to pitch a baseball, and an operator lever to control the pitching motion of said pitching table.

It is another object of the invention to provide a baseball game including a playing field and a batting mechanism having a pivotally mounted backstop, a batting wire having a rounded end secured to said backstop and rotatablo in a vertical arc with said backstop, a biasing means to rotate said backstop, and a trigger mechanism to restrain rotation of the batting wire in a cocked position and to permit rotation of said backstop and batting wire in a released position.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the ensuing description taken in conjunction with the appended claims and the drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the baseball game illustrating the relationship of the playing field, pitchers mound and batters box;

FIG. 2 is a view taken along the line 2-2 in FIG. 1 to illustrate, in elevation, a view of the batting mechanism; and

FIG. 3 is a view taken along the line 3-3 in FIG. 1 in elevation illustrating the pitching mechanism.

Referring now to the drawings, and more specifically .to FIG. 1, the baseball game includes a gameboard 1 which is mounted above a base (not shown) to provide limited space between the surface of the gameboard and the floor or table on which the game would be placed for operation. The gameboard may be used in conjunction i with a stadium arrangement for aesthetic appeal. The

playing field 2 includes an outfield 3 and an infield 4. The outfield 3 is covered with felt material to simulate grass, to deaden the sound of the arrival of fly balls for distinguishing them as safe hits, and to change the rolling characteristics of a ball traversing the outfield of the board. A left fielder 6, a center fielder 7 and a right fielder 8 are simulated by plastic discs which cover a portion of the respective field positions which would be covered by an actual fielder. The plastic-discs resound with a clicking sound on the arrival of a fly ball, and thus distinguishes fly outs from hits. The infield 4 includes a first base position 9, a second base position 10, a third base position 11, and a shortstop position 12, as well as a catcher position 13 and pitchers mound 14. The pitchers mound will be described in more detail hereinafter. The catcher position 13 is represented around home plate 16 by a strike zone 17, a ball and a foul ball zone 18, and a ball and wild pitch zone 19. A batting mechanism 20 affords the batter function and a portion of the catcher function in the game. The strike zone 17 is formed with a stationary wire 21 and a batting wire 22 of the batting mechanism 20. The area outside the entire batting Wire is the ball zone when the batting mechanism is not activated. The fielding area of the catcher is laid out by a rolling foul ball determiner 23 down the right field foul line 24 and a similar rolling foul ball determiner 25 down the left field foul line 26.

The batting mechanism 20 which may best be seen in FIG. 2, includes a mounting bracket 27 having a pair of spaced arms 28 and 29. A dowel rod 30 is loosely supported between apertures in the arms 28 and 29 to permit free rotation thereof. A pair of knobs 31 and 32 aid hand rotation of the dowel rod. The dowel rod carries a notched disc 33. A backstop 34 is pivotally mounted behind home plate 16 by hinges 35 to permit vertical arcuate rotation of the backstop. Batting wire 22, in alignment with the pitchers mound 14, is carried by the backstop 34 and rotates therewith. The batting wire 22 has a rounded batting edge 36 which projects in front of home plate. A filler block 37 is secured at the rear and upper portion of the backstop 34. The filler block 37 rests against the notched disc 33. A biasing spring 38 is secured between the backstop 34 and a loop 39 secured to base of bracket 27 behind the backstop. The spring urges the backstop towards the notched disc 33 such that as the top of the disc is rotated in a direction away from the outfield the biasing spring 38 will rotate the backstop into the notch 40 of disc 33. This rotatory movement causes the batting wire to rotate rapidly through a vertical are.

As best illustrated in FIG. 3, the pitchers mound 14 includes an upper disc 41 supported above the gameboard surface by an axial member 42 rotatably supported in a hole in the gameboard. The edge 43 of the pitchers mound 14 slopes toward the home plate 16 and the upper disc 41 carries a pair of small rings 44 just to the rear of edge 43. Immediately behind each small ring is a support 45 which aids in pitching the ball 46 towards home plate when the disc is rotated. The axial member 42 carries a lower disc 47, having the same diameter as the upper disc, centered directly below the upper disc under the gameboard surface. The lower disc has a screw eye or moving axis 48 mounted near the periphery of the lower disc 47. An operating rod 49 is securely held beneath the gameboard in the screw eye 48 and extends beneath and parallel to the gameboard to a remote edge of the gameboard away from the playing field. A threaded shaft 51 is secured within an aperture in the operating rod by a nut 52. The shaft projects upward through a narrow slot 53 in the gameboard 1. A knob 54 is secured to the top of the shaft above the gameboard surface and bridges the slot 53. By moving the knob and shaft along the slot, the operating rod moves relatively parallel to the slot and rotates the lower disc 47 through a limited arc with the axial member 42 serving as a stationary axis and the screw eye 48 serving as a moving axis, consequently rotating the upper disc of the pitchers mound.

The game is operated by two opponents, one operates the pitching mechanism, while the other operates the batting mechanism. When the ball has been pitched from the pitchers mound and hit by the batting wire by operating the batting mechanism 20, the ball 46 representing a baseball will be propelled in flight, bounced, rolled or missed. T o pitch the ball, the ball 46 is placed on one of the two small rings 44 that are secured to the upper disc 41, and represent either a lefthanded or a righthanded pitcher. The player operating the pitching mechanism gives the pitching control knob 54 a sharp tap with his finger in a horizontal direction either toward the pitchers mound or away from it that would best control the path of his pitch. The movement of the control knob 54 causes the operating rod 49 to move, thus forcing the screw eye 48 through a clockwise or counter-clockwise limited are about the stationary axis. As noted, this movement rotates the upper disc 41 secured to the axial member 42 forcing the ball 46 to be jarred off the small rings toward home plate, The support 45 secured to the pitchers mound behind each ring 44 provides a rear force since the ball has been resting on the ring and against the support at the same time, that helps the ball leave the pitchers mound in a more consistent path toward the batting mechanism.

The player operating the batting mechanism (the batter) waits with his hand on one of the batting control knobs 31 or 32. The rod 30 is normally set so that the notch 40 in the disc 33 is just below the top corner of the tiller 37 that makes contact with the disc. This is the set position. As the ball is moving from the pitchers mound 14 toward the batting wire, the batter must decide whether or not he wants the batting Wire to hit at the ball. If he chooses to hit at the ball, he must rotate the batting control knobs in a direction such that the top of the knob moves away from the outfield fence line until the filler slips into the notch of the disc. The backstop 34 pivots on the hinges 35 under the influence of the biasing spring. This action rotates the batting wire attached to the backstop through a vertical arc. By timing the rotation of the batting wire with the arrival of the pitched ball, the batting opponent can cause the ball to be hit by the wire in such a way as to propel the ball in flight toward the outfield fence. Of course, the thinness of the batting wire and the rounded front edge of the batting wire functions to simulate a batter hitting a baseball solidly or glancingly off the bat, or missing the ball, or fouling the ball off. Thus, the batting -wire simulates a batter in a baseball game swinging the bat too early, too late, slightly high or slightly low for the particular pitched ball, as well as solidly hitting the ball to achieve a home run or other hit.

In playing the game, a strike is called if the batting wire is rotated and misses the ball, and if the batting wire is not rotated but the ball comes to a stop within the oval formed by the rounded half of the batting wire and the stationary wire. If a pitched ball is hit by the batting wire in a direction that is not within the quadrant of the playing field that is formed by the right and left field foul lines, then a foul ball strike is called, counting only as a first or second strike, unless such a foul ball was a roller that did not go beyond either of the two rolling foul ball determiners which would constitute a foul tip, held on to by the catcher and counting as a first, second or third strike.

A ball is called when the batting wire is not released and the pitched ball does not come to a stop within the oval formed by the rounded half of the batting wire and the stationary wire. A ball and a wild pitch is called when the pitched ball is not hit at and it comes to a stop in the area bounded by the two straight sides of the batting wire, the stationary wire and the backstop.

If the batter hits a ball which stays in the quadrant of the playing field between the right and left field foul lines, but does not roll past the infield, it is a ground-out or a pop-out. However, if the batter hits a ball past the infield which rolls on the felt or rolls onto the outfield positions it is considered a safe bit. If the ball lands on any of the outfield player positions, as a fly ball, it is an out. The various other areas of left, center and right fields may be designated for singles, doubles, triples or home-runs, as desired.

It will be readily appreciated from the foregoing that the invention provides a pitching mechanism and a batting mechanism for realistically simulating the various pitches, batting and fielding occurring in an actual baseball game. Moreover, it will be understood that various changes to the ground rules for the convenience of the players is merely a choice and is fully appreciated from the foregoing embodiment of the invention which is not limited to such embodiment.

The rounded batting end of batting wire is curved in a half circle or a half oval in order to hit the ball in perpendicular directions to the imaginable tangents that can be formed from the curve, thus permitting the ball to be hit in any direction of forward and 180 backward.

Also, the biasing, contracting spring maintains an unchangeable force that is exerted by the batting wire loop hitting at the ball.

Various other modifications and changes will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and all such changes and modifications are deemed to be within the scope of the invention which is limited only by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a baseball game having a gameboard including a playing field layout, a batting mechanism comprising an upstanding arm pivotally mounted on the gameboard surface behind home plate, a batting loop secured to said upstanding arm extending toward home plate and having a batting edge engaging the surface of said gameboard, biasing means to rotate said upstanding arm in an are away from said home plate, and trigger means to releasably restrain said upstanding arm from rotation, and a pitching mechanism to deliver a ball toward said batting mechanism.

2. In a baseball game having a gameboard including a playing field layout, a batting mechanism including a rotatable backstop secured to the gameboard and rotatable away from home plate, a batting wire extending from said backstop toward the home plate, the batting end of said batting wire engaging the surface of said gameboard in front of home plate, means to bias said backstop for rotation and means for releasably retaining said backstop in an upright position, said backstop when released rotating said batting wire in a vertical are under the influence of said biasing means.

3. In a baseball game having a playing field layout to simulate all types of fielding plays, a pitching mechanism for said game comprising a pitchers mound rotatably supported from the game board surface intermediate home plate and second base, support means to releasably 30 retain a ball on said pitchers mound, and remote operating means for rotating said pitchers mound through a limited arc to propel said ball from said support means along a path toward home plate, said remote operating means controlling rotation of the pitchers mound to vary the path of said ball from said pitchers mound to said home plate, and a batting mechanism at home plate including a rotatable backstop secured to the garneboard and rotatable away from said home plate, a batting wire extending from said backstop towards the home plate, the batting end of said batting wire engaging the surface of said gameboard in front of home plate, means to bias said backstop for rotation and means for releasably retaining said backstop in an upright position, said backstop when released rotating said batting wire in a vertical are under the influence of said biasing means for hitting said ball.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 447,088 2/1891 Sutton 273-89 487,825 12/1892 Curtis et al. 273-89 565,309 8/1896 Weaver 273-89 575,247 1/1897 Kiah 273-89 1,011,644 12/1911 Pons 273-89 1,047,657 12/1912 Krancher 273-89 1,088,184 2/1914 Shepard 273-89 1,419,539 6/1922 Blando 124-46 1,912,360 6/1933 Blanchard 124-7 ANTON O. OECHSLE, Primary Examiner. P. SHAPIRO, Assistant Examiner. 

